Optical discs, often referred to as laser discs, have become quite popular as a consumer item for viewing movies at home. Optical discs are also being used for the permanent storage of information in computer based applications.
One problem associated with optical discs is that their surfaces must be kept very clean, or else erroneous data will be read by the disc drive. Although this problem may not be critical for optical discs used for showing movies, in computer applications the quality of the information is critical. Therefore, all sources of erroneous information must be minimized to make optical discs suitable for these applications.
One way to aid cleanliness is to keep the disc within its protective cartridge whenever outside the disc drive and to provide for the automatic removal of the disc from the cartridge upon insertion of the cartridge into the disk drive. One way of doing this has been by the use of complicated linkage mechanisms to actuate the various components during the various insertion, retraction, reinsertion and withdrawal stops. These mechanisms, because of their complexity, can be difficult and thus costly to manufacture.